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Nighttime nursing, teething, bad habits?

Hi ladies,

This is a bit of a similar thread to "nighttime nursing" but I didn't want to redirect the conversation there.

My LO is 5 months old, and we've had a rough few weeks (2) as he has started to fill (what looks like/feels like) a few teeth. His day times are varied from his happy sweet self, to slightly more bothered and uncomfortable, but it is the nights that have been really rough on him. He wakes between every 1 - 2 hours, crying in pain, very different than his usual "waking" to nurse. Sometimes my husband can resettle him, but often he is in so much discomfort that nursing him is the only way he will settle down. We've been bringing him to bed earlier than we usually do (before this, I'd bring him in after his first wake-up), and often he will nurse for what feels like the whole night, with ten minutes here and there where I will unlatch him and roll over, until he stirs again and starts rooting.

We've tried homeopathic remedies and Tylenol but truthfully nursing is the only thing that really calms him down at night. The trouble is that it feels like unless I continuously nurse him he is unsettled.

Before these past few weeks, he would be happy to lie down very drowsy and fall asleep on his own, but now he has to completely nursed to sleep, and even then, he often wakes up when I put him down in his crib.

I'm wondering if this is just a phase that is part of teething, or if I am creating bad habits always nursing him fully to sleep? Quite honestly I don't know what else to do because he is so upset otherwise, so realistically I'd keep doing it either way, but I'm hoping it will pass once he is feeling better? I guess in part here, I'm just looking for some assurance that this will pass! At the beginning of the third week of this, I'm starting to wonder...

Re: Nighttime nursing, teething, bad habits?

I think this is one of those times we should be grateful that we have such an amazing tool in our mothering toolbox. Nursing works to calm a lot of babies when they are teething. And why shouldn't we use it? Your baby's sleep patterns will change and morph as they grow and go through various developmental stages. Teething sometimes takes forever! Those little nubs can sit under the gums irritating them for a long time before they finally pop through.

If it's bothering you to do it, then keep trying to find alternatives. If it's not bothering you and it works, don't worry about creating bad habits. There's really no such thing as a bad habit in a 5 month old.

“We are not put on earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you.”
--Anonymous

Re: Nighttime nursing, teething, bad habits?

I am going through the same exact thing except my LO is 8 months old and we've been going through it for about 4 months now. He was a great sleeper from 7 weeks until he was 4 months old and all of a sudden he's exactly how you described. I have always nursed him because that was the only tool I knew to use after rocking or holding only made him seem more unsettled as he leaned toward my breast. On a rare occasion we can rock him back to sleep after he wakes up but it's mostly just nursing him back to sleep. I put him down for bed and he's generally awake again within 50 minutes, and he only on rare occasion will sleep more than 2-3 hours at a time without waking and needing to be nursed back to sleep. The advice my mom gave me led me to believe that I also have created a really bad habit and i'll be sorry in the end, but I,like you, will continue to do it if it's working. I'm hoping it will pass soon because we are waking up so frequently, but also because he must be in pain or highly uncomfortable. Good luck to you and you're not alone!! It's amazing how exact your post sounds to what we also go through in my house.

Re: Nighttime nursing, teething, bad habits?

Originally Posted by @llli*still.here

I think this is one of those times we should be grateful that we have such an amazing tool in our mothering toolbox. Nursing works to calm a lot of babies when they are teething. And why shouldn't we use it? Your baby's sleep patterns will change and morph as they grow and go through various developmental stages. Teething sometimes takes forever! Those little nubs can sit under the gums irritating them for a long time before they finally pop through.

If it's bothering you to do it, then keep trying to find alternatives. If it's not bothering you and it works, don't worry about creating bad habits. There's really no such thing as a bad habit in a 5 month old.

Re: Nighttime nursing, teething, bad habits?

I'm right there with you. I hate seeing my little guy in pain, and he seems more and more exhausted each day. Like the others said, I'm glad to have such an effective tool to use as often as needed. Still, it does get exhausting.